Wood House

Chicago, Illinois / United States of America

Designing this Chicago residence was an exercise in creating a sense of privacy within an urban neighborhood while providing an abundance of open, bright space. Privacy, sustainability, and indoor-outdoor continuity guided every design decision and informed every detail. Flowing spatial compositions, abundant natural light, durable materials, and refined craftsmanship characterize this house. Brick is the dominant material both inside and out—it is applied to the upper portion of the street facade and is visible throughout the interior, acknowledging the neighborhood context and responding to our client’s personal preference. Copper, too, is employed throughout: patinaed panels sheathe the fireplace and slip past the floor-to-ceiling glass wall of the living room into the landscaped courtyard, where they become storage-room doors. These panels also serve as a perforated privacy screen across the windows of the second-floor master bedroom and third-floor studio. The ground-level perimeter flooring and exterior pavers are black granite, forming a continuous ground plane for the house and courtyard. The green roofs that extend from the third-floor study and guest suite work together with a garden of vegetables and prairie grass atop the garage to literally elevate the interior-exterior connection, expanding views beyond the landscaped area to the city skyline.